RUNNING Head: Book Review
Book Review: Everything in It’s Path
Larry Lee
Empire State College
Book Review: “Everything in It’s Path
Kai Erikson in the book entitled “Everything in It’s Path” investigates the conditions not only physical but also mentally of the persons affected by the flood that took place in Buffalo Creek on February 26 1972. He gives information on the history of the mining town and the people before the event. The book also gives first hand accounts of those that survived the flood. Also he goes through how the event affected the survivors long after the flood had come and gone. The reader can gain insight on how harshly this event truly rocked that community to its core in many ways.
Part one of this book explains the business practices of the local mining company. This company had been dumping waste products into the Middle Forks River. This caused a massive blockage of the waterway. The waste being dumped was not compacted so it ended up resting on the silt riverbed. Over time the flow of the water wore away the waste and this gave way to a large flood. The rushing water of the flood took all of the years of waste and dumped it into the river which caused the flood. The people were not prepared. As it flowed down the mountain the massive amounts of debris and waste collected by the rushing water destroyed everything in its path. The entire town of Buffalo Creek was nearly completely destroyed. The survivors would be negligent of the intensity of the damage for a long time which in some ways may have protected some psychologically. The death and destruction that surrounded the survivors would take years to overcome, but the memory never fades away.
Part two is the ability to truly understand these mountain people as a whole. The descriptions of the religious and background of the population of Buffalo Creek is limited. The reader comes to find out that these people are very individualistic, proud of who they are,...